“The Wrestler has gone way above my expectations. It is a complete masterpiece of sports films. Some people have referred it as the new Raging Bull and the sports film of the decade. I would call it both for these various reasons. It is a very emotional story with a rather heartbreaking storyline, it has very realistic effects and it has absolutely beautiful characters to watch. This film is one of those rare sports films that are actually really serious and have a very powerful meaning. For example, the meaning of the boxing film Cinderella Man is that it is a story or committing yourself for your family because you are poor and are endangered financially. The Wrestler has a very different and very new meaning compared to other sports films that have been made in the past. To me so far, th” read more

"Bruce Springsteen sings over the credits at the end:
Have you ever seen a one trick pony
in the field so happy and free?
If you've ever seen a one trick pony
then you've seen me.
Have you ever seen a one-legged dog
making its way down the street?
If you've ever seen a one-legged dog
then you've seen me."

"Mickey Rourke. This is his movie. Without Rourke, this could not exist. Had they cast anyone else, it would be an inferior film. This is because the character of Randy "The Ram" Robinson is in so many ways similar to Mickey Rourke himself, that he gives the best lead performance all year. Now, he isn't playing himself. He's playing the character, but he clearly reflects his own life and his failures into The Ram to give him more emotion, and essentially build the character as a whole. Rourke is "

“Most stories are comprised of a few different parts, such as the introduction, the climax and the so called cooling off after the climax. If a film nails all the parts a good story should have, it's likely to have a very good story. What most people don't like about The Wrestler is that the film's climax essentially doesn't end in their mind. If you ask me though, the film climaxes before the monumental fight in the end of the movie. The climax is the downfall of The Ram, and after that we get to digest the entire climax during a fight scene. This story is different in a way because it doesn't peak at a big fight scene, but instead emotionally starting from The Ram cutting his hand at a meat station. All this is most certainly carefully planned out by writer/director Darren Aronofsky, and ” read more

"Could call this one the most impressive film of -08 and also Mickey Rourke's greatest performance. The film is photographed entirely with hand-held camera and manages to be a really touching one. Ending is also near-perfect."